Dead Right (film)
| Dead Right | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Edgar Wright |
| Written by | Edgar Wright |
| Starring | Edward Scotland Martin Curtis Richard Green Amy Bowles |
|
Release date
|
1993 |
|
Running time
|
41 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £275 |
Dead Right is an early short film from Spaced and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright. Filmed in 1992 and 1993 in his hometown of Wells, England when Wright was only 18. He wrote, edited, produced and directed the film as well as shooting and recording the sound. It is a Zucker Brothers style comedy that parodies the action thriller genre, most notably the Dirty Harry series (Dead Right was the working title for the original Dirty Harry). The film is shot on SVHS and contains an impressive cast of 70 actors (mostly amateur), mainly made up of Wright's school friends and colleagues. Clips from the film were first broadcast on Take Over TV – the Channel 4 series consisting entirely of video clips sent in by viewers – that also launched the careers of comedy duo Adam and Joe.
The film opens with a parody of the Simon Bates intro that used to accompany VHS rentals where Bates would explain to the viewer what certificate the film had received – 18 apparently – and what adult content they could expect to see.
The story begins with a serial killer bumping off the residents of a small Somerset community. Maverick DI Barry Stern is assigned to the case and – despite his reluctance – is partnered with by-the-book fellow DI Mike Tight.
On their first time out together Barry shoots a dealer trying to sell him cocaine in a public toilet. Meanwhile, the killer stalks a woman home from the supermarket and kills her by electrocution with a kitchen light.
Mike and Barry show up at the scene of the crime and discover the woman electrocuted to death. A box of cereal has been left on her head leading Barry to summise that they are now looking for a cereal killer.
Back at the precinct Mike addresses his fellow inspectors. He tells them that to catch the killer they must look at and obey the formula that most cop movies go by even though it is a British movie and there won't be any car chases. Barry points out that the partner usually dies in these kind of movies but Mike says he is thinking more along the lines of the Lethal Weapon films.
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